Wireless communication devices are increasingly popular and increasingly complex. For example, mobile telecommunication devices have progressed from simple phones, to smart phones with multiple communication capabilities (e.g., multiple cellular communication protocols, Wi-Fi, BLUETOOTH® and other short-range communication protocols), supercomputing processors, cameras, etc. Wireless communication devices have antennas to support wireless communication over a range of frequencies.
It is often desirable to have a thin antenna system. For example, mobile communication devices typically have multiple antenna systems that are each required to be thin to fit within a thin form factor of the mobile communication device (e.g., a smartphone, tablet computer, etc.). Multi-layer antennas systems, with one or more layers of radiating metal, may be used to provide thin antenna systems. In certain implementations a layer without significant metallization or stiffening elements in at least a portion of the layer may deform to an unacceptable extent.